Boojoyful

July 31 Elated means : great happiness and exhilaration.  Some synonyms are: "ecstatic, elected, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, giddy, rapturous."  Such a fun, fun word!  While I couldn't find it in the Bible,  I did look up these two stories. One where Jesus told people, who loved him deeply, that some beyond belief good times laid ahead for them!  The other story takes place when the steadfast female friends of Jesus discover an empty tomb and then Jesus himself! " The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost not time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples.  Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks.  'Good morning!' he said.  They fell to their knees, embraced his feet and worshiped him.  Jesus said, 'You're holding on to me for dear life!  Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee and that I'll meet them there.'"   Matthew 28...

Are these cute neighbors or what? July 30 Yesterday's Merriam Webster Online Dictionary's "Word of the Day" was... indomitable - incapable of being subdued: unconquerable. It immediately made me think of Jesus! In Job 36:26 Elihu is sounding off to Job about God... "Take a long, hard look.  See how great he is-infinite, greater than anything you could ever imagine or  figure out!"  Yup, sounds like even long, long ago people recognized God's indomitable qualities!

July 29 Today's Biblegateway passage reads in The Message translation: "What you say goes, God, and stays, as permanent as the heavens.  Your truth never goes out of fashion; it's as up-to-date as the earth when the sun comes up.  Your Word and truth are dependable as ever; that's what you ordered-you set the earth going.  If your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came.  But I'll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words."  Psalm 119:93 We don't always want to hear truth  do we?  I laughed as I looked back to Kelly Minter's word on God's truth in her Nehemiah study. "But whether God's truth is acting like familiar hands gently steering me in the way I should go or tapping me on the shoulder when I'm straying-or beating my buns, it is my anchor. It is my freedom." My goddaughter is visiting and her husband is a major in the Army.  She made t...

July 28 Yesterday's She Reads Truth post held this quote... "I like to think I'm not so much a sinner as a serial mistake-maker." Most of us are slow to call ourselves sinners.   Yet, Romans 3:23 says, " All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."   Romans 6:23 takes the issue a step further. .."The wages of sin are death ." " If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."   1 John 1:8-9 Yesterday, our beach was filled with over a 100 people who came to witness the baptisms of a dozen people from our church.  Each of the individuals being baptized have acknowledged their sin and need their need for a savior and professed Jesus as that Savior.  Until we see how holy God is, we don't see our sin as clearly as we should.

July 27 Recently, I had a discussion with some godly women on the Biblical challenge we have before us to be set-apart.   In addition to our day to day behavior being identified as quite different, maybe even strange, our minds certainly need to be set apart from the way the world thinks.   "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.   Romans 8:5 Looking back to a prayer journal a few weeks ago when we were in crisis mode related to some family illnesses I asked the Lord..."What is my mind set upon...things of the flesh or things of the Spirit?  Calm my heart and give me wisdom.  Take way any resentment I might have towards others and their roles in this scenario.  Father, if I'm honest, I think part of my reactions have been related to fear...Use this situation for Your glory. Make us a beacon of light and hope for so...

July 25-26 These are a couple of my all time favorite photos.  A few friends have said the first one looks like it could go from a love pat, to a push in the lake! Kelly Minter poses this wonderful character desire. "May we seek to be people that God and others can trust, people whose deeds do not change whether we are in he dark or the light, whether we've been entrusted with little or much... When I have the assurance that a person's word is true, motives, pure and intents just, I have found a rare treasure indeed." "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.   Luke 16:10

This sassy guy was strutting his stuff and blabbing his mouth the other day on a nearby farm. July 24 Turning to my husband in bed the other night I said, "I don't think I've listened to the news in a month!"  "Good! Don't." He replied. "It is getting worse by the day." It made me click back to my confidence Biblegateway search and these powerful words on the downfall of self-confidence. "These are all warning g markers -DANGER!-in our history books, written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel-they at the beginning, we at the end-and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were.  Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt.  You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless.  Cultivate God-confidence." 1 Corinthians 10:11-12